Killing spotlights teen violence in Chicago

CHICAGO

Karen Hawkins, Associated Press

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Cell phone footage showing a group of teens viciously kicking and striking a 16-year-old honor student with splintered railroad ties has intensified pressure on Chicago officials to address chronic violence that has led to dozens of deaths of city teens each year.

The graphic video of the afternoon melee emerged on local news stations over the weekend, showed the fatal beating of Derrion Albert, a sophomore at Christian Fenger Academy High School. His death was the latest addition to a toll that keeps getting higher: More than 30 students were killed last school year, and the city could exceed that number this year.

Prosecutors charged four teenagers Monday with fatally beating Derrion, who was walking to a bus stop when he got caught up in the fighting, authorities said.

The violence stemmed from a shooting early Thursday morning involving two groups of students from different neighborhoods, said a spokeswoman for the Cook County prosecutor's office. When school ended, members of the two groups began fighting. Derrion was a bystander and not part of either group, Simonton said.

The video shows Derrion being struck on the head by one of several young men wielding wooden planks.

Prosecutors charged Silvonus Shannon, 19; Eugene Bailey, 18; Eugene Riley, 18; and Eric Carson, 16, with first-degree murder, according to the Cook County prosecutor's office. The Cook County Public Defender's Office, which represents three of the teenagers, had no immediate comment Monday.

This month, the city announced a $30 million project that targets 1,200 high school pupils identified as most at risk to become victims of gun violence, giving them mentors and part-time jobs to keep them off the streets. Some money also will pay for more security guards and to provide safe passage for students forced to travel through areas with active street gangs.

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